GILPIN COUNTY — The Gilpin County Democratic Party held their 2026 Democratic Caucus and Assembly on March 7 at the Gilpin School. Joe Neguse, US. Representative for Colorado’s 2nd congressional district, was the featured speaker at the event, and Phil Gibbs, Gilpin County Democratic Party Chair, moderated the meeting.

Registration stations at the Democratic Party Caucus and Assembly. All voters who registered as Democrats and met eligibility conditions were able to vote at the caucus and the assembly, which helped select candidates for the June Primary.

Photo Courtesy of Sahari McCormick

In addition to speeches and discussions regarding the current affairs, Gilpin Democrats recognized the local candidates who will be in the June Primary and become nominees for the November General election.

Candidate videos averaged two minutes and featured most of state level candidates who are seeking a spot on the June Primary ballot via the caucus process. All the local candidates gave speeches before their nominations.

The nominations for local county elected offices were by unanimous vote for each of the candidates to be placed on the June Primary ballot.

The declared candidates for local elected office are Susan Berumen, County Commissioner District 2; Greg Demo, Gilpin County Sheriff; Joe Self, Clerk and Recorder; April Nielson, Assessor; and Zane Laubhan, Coroner.

Gilpin County Assessor April Nielson announcing her intention to run for reelection. April quipped that she would be the one who followed after Congressman Joe Neguse. Her speech did have the same authenticity as his.

Photo Courtesy of Sahari McCormick

Berumen is running as the incumbent and seeking a second term. Demo is currently the Gilpin County Undersheriff and has 37 years of combined military and Colorado law enforcement experience. Joe Self has been the Deputy Clerk and Recorder for the last three years. Nielson is running as the incumbent Assessor. Laubhan has served as County Coroner for the last twenty years and is seeking his sixth term.

The assembly portion of the meeting resulted in Rhonda Horwitz-Romano and Reaca Pearl being elected as county delegates to the Colorado Democratic Party state assembly in Pueblo on March 28. They will be voting for the state-level candidates on the June Primary ballot.

Colorado allows unaffiliated voters to vote in the June Primaries, this year being held June 30.

'Cruelty is their currency'

Neguse had a busy day, visiting as many county caucuses in his district as he could.

In his comments, Neguse said that the one word that describes the actions of the current federal administration is "cruelty" — the kind of cruelty that puts families into poverty to pay for tax cuts for billionaires; The kind of cruelty that separates young children from their parents and doesn’t tell the parents where the children are being sent.

Cruelty is their central currency, Neguse said.

The challenge for people of good faith who care about our country, Neguse continued, is overcoming that cruelty and staying hopeful and optimistic. He spoke about his enduring hope that comes from the fundamental goodness and kindness that he sees in the communities that he represents. It is neighbors helping neighbors like he saw on display at the Gilpin Food Pantry last November.

Neguse concluded his speech by invoking John Lewis and the civil rights march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 at the height of Jim Crow segregation. Neguse said that Lewis and his companions who marched across the bridge into "Bloody Sunday" didn’t have time to feel hopeless: Their purpose was to secure the rights of future generations, and they were not going to be turned back.

For more information about the Gilpin County Democratic Party, visit gilpincountydems.org or email gilpindemschair@gmail.com. The Colorado Democratic Party website is coloradodems.org.